The accumulation of leaves and debris in roof gutters prevents the flow of runoff water from the roof and the weight of the debris can damage and break the gutters. Cleaning leaves and debris from roof gutters is a routine activity particularly in the autumn months. Typically, cleaning a roof gutter requires a person to climb onto the roof of a building or climb a ladder to the height of the gutter and then manually remove the leaves and debris from the gutter by hand or with some hand held scraper. The height at which gutters are positioned even in single story buildings makes manually cleaning gutters inherently dangerous. A person can easily fall when stooping over from the roof or leaning from a ladder to reach the gutter. Using a ladder to reach the gutters requires the ladder to be constantly repositioned to clean the entire length of the gutter.
Various gutter cleaning tools and apparatus have been developed to assist a user in the removal of leaves and debris from roof gutters from a ground position. Some of these apparatus simply employ a rake or blade mounted to an elongate pole with a mechanism for adjusting the angle of inclination between the head part and the pole. Other apparatus incorporate means for selectively extending the pole to different lengths. Many of the conventional gutter cleaning apparatus include a head unit that employs an articulated gripping mechanism to grasp and remove, as well as, rake and gather the debris within the gutter. With a gripping mechanism, the apparatus can be used to deposit debris directly into a collection container without scraping the debris onto the ground thereby lessening the work involved in gutter cleaning.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,114,938 (Strader) shows a gutter cleaning device that includes an elongated pole and a pair of selectively retractable gripping arms pivotally attached to the upper end of the pole. Two U-shaped bails are rotatably attached in a juxtaposed relation to the upper end of the pole. Each gripping arm is mounted to one end segment of the U-shaped bails. The other ends of the bails are connected by a length of cord so that the user can pull the cord to rotate the bails and move the gripping arms between an open and closed position. U.S. Pat. No. 4,057,276 (Currie) shows a similar gutter cleaning apparatus that uses a pair of scoops pivotally mounted at the upper end of a pole, and a cord for selectively pivoting the scoops together to collect debris therein. In Currie '276, the cord is connected to each scoop so that when pulled the scoops are drawn together. U.S. Pat. No. 5,853,209 (McDermott) shows another improvement to a basic articulated rake or blade design for a gutter cleaning apparatus. McDermott '209 includes two clamping jaws mounted atop a telescoping tubular pole, but adds a mounting plate connecting the clamping jaws and the pole, which allows adjustment to the angle of inclination between the jaws and the pole. Again in McDermott '209, the jaws are drawn together by a cord.
Heretofore, none of the conventional gutter cleaning apparatus has adequately addressed the need for a simple and effective tool, which can be easily manipulated and adjusted while employing an articulated gripping mechanism. Typically, the cord and pulley systems of the conventional gripping mechanism have been too complicated, cumbersome and difficult to use to be practical and commercially successful. They also require that the user hold the pole in one hand while operating the cord with the other hand. In operation, collected debris can interfere with the cord and pull systems and prevent the actuation of the gripping mechanism. The need for adjusting the angle of inclination between the head unit and the pole further complicates and encumbers the gripping mechanisms. The cord and pulley systems of the conventional apparatus are not only mechanically complicated and cumbersome, but heavy. As the length of the pole increases to reach gutters at greater heights, the additional weight of the gripping mechanism makes the apparatus even more difficult to manipulate. Consequently, there remains a need for a simple and effective gutter cleaning apparatus, which includes an articulated gripping mechanism and angular adjustment while also addressing the short comings of the prior art.